What's phishing?
Phishing is a cyber crime where you're targeted via email, telephone or text message. Someone masquerades as a legitimate institution or person to lure you into providing sensitive data such as:
- Personally identifiable information
- Banking or credit card details
- Passwords
They then use the information to access important accounts and this can result in identity theft or financial loss.
Red flags to look out for
Is the greeting personal? A genuine email will usually address you by name Is the message from someone you know but their email address is different? You might receive an email where the name is the same as your friend's but the actual email address is different - look out for these inconsistencies Check the grammar and spelling. Sloppy spelling mistakes are a big giveaway (e.g. Pl3ase instead of please) Be wary